New Texas laws will soon impact schools

Desmond Milligan · August 20

The Brief

Austin ISD students went back to school on August 19
Some Texas laws will soon take effect and impact operations
A new cellphone ban, school buses with seatbelts, and the Ten Commandments being posted in classrooms are some of the changes

AUSTIN, Texas - Tuesday, August 19, was the first day of the new school year for Austin ISD students.

Some new laws will also soon take effect and impact operations.

New changes in Texas public schools

School buses with seatbelts

Nearly 73,000 students within Austin ISD headed back for the new school. For the first time, the district is utilizing air-conditioned buses with seatbelts.

"Which is a big, big deal, especially here in Austin when it's going to be 100 degrees the entire first couple weeks of school," AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said.

Cellphone ban

In just a couple of weeks, new laws will take effect impacting Texas public schools. A major change is a ban on student cellphone use during the school day.

"When you go into schools, and you have students engaging with one another, having conversations with each other at lunchtime, in the hallways, it's important," Segura said. "We’ve got too many devices in the classrooms; we’ve got to get them out."

Some are worried about being able to communicate during emergencies.

"I want to be able to be in touch with my mom throughout the day. I don't like not being able to text her. If anything were to happen, I wouldn't be able to because it's locked up," Ninth grader Isabella Cortez said.

Other changes

Other changes include new regulations on curriculum and classroom displays. Schools are prohibited from sponsoring, authorizing, or promoting clubs or instruction based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Another requirement is that the Ten Commandments must be displayed in classrooms if the signs are privately donated.

Sixteen parents of different religious backgrounds have already sued the state, arguing that displaying them infringes on the First Amendment and the separation of church and state.

The Source

Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis

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